4 consumer points to consider when selling car accessories

Since the release of the popular film “The Fast and the Furious”, car accessorizing has shifted from being a secret of car gear enthusiast to a main stream phenomenon. Two sequels later and the aftermarket accessory market continues to average 8% growth annually. Car dealerships…

I was calling the other day to set up some travel and when I dialed I got a real voice versus an IVR.  The funny thing was, I checked to make sure I dialed the right number.

Now how funny is that. We are so accustomed to getting a recording (you have reached...) or a support line, (please enter your account #) that when we actually get someone it makes us feel…

I used to be a product demonstrator for Soda Stream last spring in 2011 and I had fun talking about the product and meeting every skeptical question dead on with a great answer. Soda Stream is a product where you make your own seltzer with compressed CO2 and add soda and seltzer flavors. I just started up again this Saturday, March 17 2012 and fell right back into the old routine and was just as knowledgeable and…

In today’s durable goods market there are two main factors other than the product itself that will ultimately influence the consumer’s purchase decision, regardless of the type of product. These two factors are quality of service and customer satisfaction. Turning the consumer from a potential customer to a loyal customer is a complex process. The business through…

Many professional sales and sales management trainers believe that you have not "maxed out" on a vehicle buyer until that buyer initiates one additional sale (additional household vehicle or personal referral) during his/her normal purchase cycle. Mathematically, here's how the "one additional sale" concept works:  

Assume that the normal customer purchase cycle…

“It only takes one bug in the potato salad to ruin a picnic,” according to one of the little old ladies I went to church with as a child.  As I move further away from a precocious child and closer to being a sweet little old lady, I am realizing that she was not registering a complaint about church picnics but planting a seed of wisdom that would develop as I grew older.  One little bug can ruin the…

As a certified sports nut, I love big-time game-changing plays – the “Hail Mary” pass to win the game as the last seconds tick off, and the three-pointers from 'Downtown' at the buzzer, those remarkably bold plays that lift fans out of their seats...

We can learn much about sales success strategies from those who have and continue to lead their teams to championships in the sports arenas and on the fields across this great nation.

Consider the discipline,…

At the Sonic Dealer Academy we used an article titled, “Simple Techniques to Grow Your Business,” as a teaching tool. This article was authored by Duane “D.J.” Sprague who, at the time, was the president of Dunning Sprague Marketing & Advertising, a full service agency specializing in generating and retaining customers for the retail automotive dealer. All of us that were exposed to D.J.’s metrics took them at face value. I think many of them, particularly those listed below, still apply…

Hi again,

I wanted to post another article, in regards to the partnerships we develop. Paul Long wrote this a while ago, and I wanted to get the opinions of the community. 

Ok, we admit, the subject line is a bit high-minded. And that's not a bit surprising considering the source of it is Dr. Emmett Murphy, New York Times best-selling author of 

"…

CAR-Research XRM Enjoys Unprecedented Growth,

Appoints Patrick Kelly as President & COO

Houston, Texas, October 18, 2011, CAR-Research XRM, a single-source CRM solution uniquely branded as; “XRM, Exceeding CRM”, today announced the appointment of Patrick Kelly, formerly Senior Vice…

Mike Martinez Joins DMEautomotive as Chief Marketing Officer

Digital Sales and Marketing Veteran to Drive Brand, Marketing and Sales Momentum of Automotive Marketing Leader

Daytona Beach, FL --…

CAR-Research XRM Launches AutoDesk: Automated Rates & Residuals Program Provides Auto Dealers All Automotive Incentive Information in Simple, Integrated Format

Houston, Texas, September 20, 2011, CAR-Research XRM, a single-source CRM solution uniquely branded as; “XRM, Exceeding CRM”, today announced the launch of AutoDesk, a new automated Rates and…

CAR-Research XRM Releases Auto Dealers' Guide to Outselling Competition, Increasing Car Sales, Decreasing 3^rd Party Leads, & Closing more Be-Backs

Houston, Texas, August 16, 2011 – Many auto dealerships are closing just twenty percent of shoppers who come through the doors, while the remaining eighty percent simply walk away to a competitor.…

We have been working with salespeople, managers, service staff, and business development representatives for many years now. All of the people we work with including sales and service managers at dealerships understand the importance of multiple phone numbers.



If you had multiple phone numbers for every customer, could you reach more customers in a day?



Would you sell more cars and set more service appointments?



Then why is it that when you get a customer on the…

Nicki Allen of Classic Mazda and Classic Chrysler Dodge Jeep of Denton gives new perspective to some traditional ideas in the automotive business.  A focus on new technology defines a new attitude for these Texas dealerships. Click the image above for the full feature.

The biggest mistake salespeople, sales managers and BDC staff make is that they let notes in their CRM or on paper convince them not to call customers back. As I always say you need to get the consumer out of you before you make the call. Someone is going to be sold and the question is who. How can you expect to re-motivate customers to visit the dealership if you are not convinced when you call them. The question is are you selling them or are they selling you?…

CRM: “Customized Relationship Marketing” or “Continually Representing Me”. Michael Tyman of Professional Success, Inc. shares his views.

The CRM is a “customer relationship management” tool that works as a large repository of customer information, but it can be so much more powerful if you unlock its true potential. To…

Ever since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) passed the Safeguards Rule, customer information security has been a hot topic over the past several years for auto dealerships.   The FTC mandates that auto dealerships have a formal, written, and revisable program specifying the steps taken to protect customer’s personal information and prevent unauthorized use of such information.  The three objectives needed in a Customer Information Security Program are:

1. Secure and insure the…

Many new car dealers know that something is not right with their service departments or for that matter with their dealership business model as a whole. Customer loss rates are at all time high, "Right To Repair" legislation is seemingly hanging over like a "sword of Damocles" and profits margins are shrinking across the board. I bet in almost every franchised new car dealership, management meetings are being held to discuss how to tackle these challenges and I can imagine the nature of some…